It was a
year of change and transition as the Jim Henson Company found new owners
in a climatic last minute race to save the Muppets. While fans applauded
the announcement that it was the Henson family themselves that had regained
control of the company there were less happy moments when it was reported
production work would end in London and the historic Townhouse would go
up for sale in New York. These cutbacks came as the Hensons began to rebuild
the company into a more streamlined, cost-efficient operation based in
Los Angeles.

JANUARY

The
new year started with Big Bird making an appearance in the 2003 Rose Bowl
Parade, marching bands played the themes to Sesame Street and The Muppet
Show. Meanwhile Farscape
was in trouble as executives at the Sci-Fi Channel announced its cancellation
due to financial problems which meant the fourth season would end abruptly
in March. Fozzie Bear attended a puppet conference at the Carnegie Museum
of Pittsburgh to discuss the history of puppeteering and Kermit the Frog
appeared on Hollywood Squares. The direct to video movie Mirror
Mask was announced by Jim Henson Pictures, the story idea had been
developed from conversations about a possible Labyrinth sequel. January
10th marked the twentieth anniversary of Fraggle Rock debuting on HBO
in the United States. The sale of the Henson Company continued to drag
on as EM.TV's loan
repayment was extended until February, although an unusual
offer to buy the company came from Herbert Becker - a wacky media
mogul planning to develop Internet TV. Despite this, the Muppets’
German owners still insisted they planned to sell to Dean Valentine despite
his failure to arrange financing for the deal.

FEBRUARY

Adding
some glamour to the month, Miss Piggy co-hosted a show by designer Jeremy
Scott at New York Fashion Week, the diva herself being a big fan of his
creations. It would be a sunny day for the people of Pittsburgh as their
Children's Museum played host to a Sesame
Street exhibition which enabled visitors to interact with much loved
characters from the program. TDK Mediactive announced the Muppets would
go On With
The Show when they debuted later in the year on the Game Boy Advance.
Search engine Opera released
a version of its browser which meant people accessing MSN were fed
search results in the language of the Swedish Chef. This recipe for disaster
was a prank aimed at Microsoft who had earlier restricted access to their
pages. Henson collectors welcomed a more unusual addition to their ranks
when a Michael Jackson TV documentary revealed he owned an expensive Swarovski
crystal pillbox of our favorite frog, Kermit. As if things couldn’t
get any more off the wall, Pepe the Prawn co-hosted a Valentines Day edition
of TVs The Other Half where girls modeled Muppet underwear.

In
Germany the trial of brothers Thomas and Florian Haffa which had begun
the previous November heard evidence from an expert witness who claimed
the former EM.TV chiefs had knowingly published false financial reports.
He said the Haffas had indicated to their shareholders that the revenue
they expected to earn from ownership of Jim Henson Productions was much
higher than it should have been. It wasn’t all bad news in Germany
though as licensee Catric (formerly Igel Toys) released a new selection
of Muppet collectibles which included slippers, backpacks and plushes.
Among the characters released in plush form was a rare treat - none other
than Gonzo's sweetheart, Camilla the Chicken. The most surprising new
merchandise wasn’t to come from overseas though as Palisades
Toys announced at the 100th American International Toy Fair they had
been given special permission to make a limited edition action figure
of the Jim Henson Muppet.

MARCH

This
was a particularly poignant month in Henson history as Lynne
Thigpen, veteran actress and voice of Luna the Moon on Bear in the
Big Blue House passed away. Her friend, puppeteer Noel
MacNeal wrote a touching tribute saying a special goodbye of his own.
Fans and the entertainment industry remembered Lynne’s work as the
show received four Emmy award nominations with Sesame Street also picking
up thirteen. What was expected to be the last
ever episode of Farscape aired on the Sci-Fi channel but supporters
of the cult show continued their campaigns to save it. Dave Barrington
Holt, creative supervisor of the Creature Shop gave an interview for BBC
show Xchange giving British fans a rare look around Henson's puppet workshops.
Pez websites announced that Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie would
be featured as candy dispensers when a new line of Sesame Street Pez products
debuted. It was reported that Kermit and Miss Piggy would be featured
as a Christmas
ornament in Hallmark's Keepsake Collection. Visiting the dentist became
less of a chore for Muppet fans as Recall postcards were produced - now
Dr. Teeth would remind the public to keep their appointments and avoid
molar mayhem. DVD collectors in the USA were treated to Volumes 3 and
4 of Columbia Tristar’s Best Of The Muppet Show collection as well
as Superbit editions of both Labyrinth and Dark Crystal. Dean
Valentine and Haim
Saban both dropped efforts to purchase the Henson Company but there
was press
speculation that Disney was back in the running. Its Chairman and
CEO Michael Eisner was even confident enough to tell shareholders he wouldn’t
be surprised to see a deal made soon.

APRIL

Star
Wars actress Natalie Portman made an elephant of herself at the beginning
of Sesame
Street’s 34th season when she dressed in costume for a guest
appearance on the show. The adorable furry little monster Grover got his
own segment, Global Grover which saw him traveling the world to teach
children about different cultures. Gaming fans were excited to hear the
Muppets would be taking to the sea in a new release for the PS2 and GameCube
called Muppets Party Cruise. The Jim Henson Company announced they had
signed a licensing agreement which would see Muppet
finger puppets and cookies being sold at Starbucks. Caroll Spinney
wrote about what it’s like to be the most unknown famous person
in America when his book The
Wisdom of Big Bird was published. Kermit made his second appearance
of the year on Hollywood Squares when he participated in their Tournament
Of Champions. Fans of the Dark Crystal continued to enjoy the renewed
interest in the fantasy film as a limited
edition version of the CD soundtrack was released, it featured 30
minutes of extra music unheard in the movie. Muppet collectors had the
chance to own a unique piece of Henson history as the Electric Mayhem
Bus was auctioned once again on eBay. This time though it was successfully
sold to a lucky fan. Outtakes
from It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie aired on NBC's Funniest
Outtakes 2. Nanco released pictures of a new range of Muppet and Sesame
character plushes, including the first ever Pepe the Prawn doll. Repayments
on EM.TV's bank loan were extended until the end of May but its former
Chief Executives Thomas and Florian Haffa were found guilty of fraud.
Convicted by a Munich court they were sentenced to pay fines totaling
almost $1.6 million although they narrowly avoided the eight month suspended
jail terms demanded by prosecutors. In sad news, Sesame Street's Mr. Noodle,
Michael
Jeter passed away at age 50.

MAY

In
a blaze of media publicity, Caroll Spinney made numerous TV and Radio
appearances this month to promote his book The Wisdom of Big Bird. As
part of this, many Henson fans got to meet and greet the much respected
Henson puppeteer when he signed books at many locations around the USA,
bringing Oscar the Grouch along with him. The rare 1982 book The World
Of Dark Crystal was re-released in a new collector's edition with updated
content from concept artist Brian Froud. It was announced Capitol Films
would join forces with Jim Henson’s Creature Shop to adapt the novel
Five Children
and It into a new movie. The Swedish Chef was pictured creating calamity
in the kitchen for FHM as he reviewed culinary gadgets for the famous
men’s lifestyle magazine. Meanwhile Canadian fans were excited to
hear episodes of The Muppet Show would be shown daily there beginning
in September. Sesame puppeteer Marty P. Robinson talked to the Sun-Sentinal
newspaper about his dark-side as he created
a new version of man-eating plant Audrey for the revived Broadway
musical Little Shop of Horrors. Cult sci-fi hit Farscape may have been
cancelled but was still winning awards as it received a Saturn
for best cable series. Derek Stucker, product developer of the new
Muppet Monopoly board game allowed Muppet Central readers to see the finished
product in a special
preview article - they had been giving feedback to the games designers
over previous months in the site forum. The Sesame Street characters paid
tribute to the late Fred
Rogers at the 30th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, Sesame Street also
won Outstanding Television Series for Pre-Schoolers and appeared a few
days later on Oprah. The Muppets appeared on the cover of KidPlanet magazine
with Bill Baretta interviewed inside about his work as a Muppeteer. Miss
Piggy appeared on Hollywood Squares to take part in "Blondes Have
More Fun Week".

The
most important news of the month, and the entire year came when EM.TV
finally found a new owner for the Jim Henson Company. Muppet fans heard
how Disney had withdrawn from negotiations two weeks prior leaving Classic
Media as the only remaining bidder. With backing from Sony
and Sesame Workshop it was looking like they would succeed in their
attempt to acquire the business, but it was Jim Henson’s own children
who stepped in at the last minute and agreed
to buy back the Muppets. Announcing the deal Brian Henson said that
watching the drawn out sale process had been painful and when Disney pulled
out the family
had decided to act rather than see his father’s characters owned
by another smaller company. Henson CEO and president Charlie
Rivkin sent a letter to employee's saying he was thrilled that the
Muppets were once again in Henson hands.

JUNE

Miss
Piggy gave fans more priceless moments as a new Muppet Mastercard commercial
aired in the USA with her in the starring role. It was revealed the Muppets
would be featured in a promotion
for Jack In The Box restaurants - each kids meal would contain a Hollywood
themed action figure toy. Things weren’t so great over on Broadway
as the Little
Shop of Horrors musical revival was cancelled. The second season of
Noggin’s Play With Me Sesame began
with Edgeworx providing graphics animation. The Jim Henson Company
announced it would partner with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Muppet
plush and bobbleheads would be available to buy at the Dodger Stadium
throughout the 2003 baseball season. It looked like 2003/2004 would be
great years for Henson collectors as the company revealed its licensing
plans - new merchandise would include playing cards, a dartboard and
Electric Mayhem plush as well as more great action figures from Palisades
Toys and busts from Sideshow. The most surprising announcement from Henson
at the 2003 Licensing Show was a new initiative to promote
the Muppet Babies during its 20th anniversary year. A new merchandising
campaign for the Emmy award winning cartoon would see new plush, clothing
and books based on the popular characters. Pam Arciero, puppeteer of Grundgetta
Grunch on Sesame Street
took charge
of the O'Neill Puppetry Conference, becoming its director. DVD collectors
were treated to more classic Henson material as John
Denver and The Muppets: Rocky Mountain Holiday and The Storyteller
were both announced for release. Sesame Workshop announced it would distribute
75,000 copies of a video called You
Can Ask! to schools, it featured Sesame Street characters encouraging
children to ask their parents when they’re confused about their
feelings. Fans began to look forward to Christmas already when it was
reported Barnes & Noble planned a massive Muppet promotion over the
holiday season and that one of the characters might make a guest appearance
in New York stores.

JULY

EM.TV
shareholders approved the sale of the Jim Henson Company to its founder’s
children and Charlie Rivkin, CEO and president appeared at the Sun Valley
Media Conference in Idaho to announce a hand-over
date of August 1st. He also said the Henson family were planning a
complete makeover for the company and were looking to make strategic alliances
with others. It wasn’t all good news at Henson though - almost half
the employees based in New York were made redundant in order to cut staffing
costs, this included most of the licensing department. The first wave
of Mini Muppets, a new line of collectable PVCs from Palisades Toys began
arriving in stores. Taking a stand against racism the Henson Company joined
forces with Oneness to sponsor the 2003 songwriters summit. UK fans were
able to collect plush character toys from The Hoobs when they purchased
a McDonald's Happy Meal in a new fast-food promotion. Songs
from the Street - a 3 CD boxed set of music celebrating the 35th anniversary
of Sesame Street was announced. Rhino Records, Palisades Toys and Columbia
Tristar joined forces with the Henson Company for a contest to "Win
a Basket of Muppet Mania".

Jim
Henson’s children regained control of the Henson Company at the
beginning of the month, the sale
closed at $84 million. As the new management continued efforts to
streamline and re-focus the organization TV
production ended at their Camden offices. Several key staff were made
redundant although the UK division of the Creature Shop remained. Isaac
Mizrahi designed a tuxedo for Elmo to wear at the Sesame Workshop 35th
anniversary gala. Kermit sang the Jaws theme and remembered other nostalgic
shows and events during interview segments on VH1's I Love The 70's special.
Award winning Muppeteer Kevin Clash brought Elmo to Toronto as they led
an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for
the largest Hokey Pokey. In more preparations for Sesame’s 35th
anniversary year in 2004, Sesame Workshop and Ninja Tune released a vinyl
disco mix of songs from Sesame Street to DJ's, most notably the Pointer
Sisters' Pinball Number Count. People using Photo-Me booths in the UK
were able to have their picture taken with a digital Kermit, the company
was searching for the ultimate Muppet fan in a competition to win lots
of merchandise. Fans of the Little Shop of Horrors were pleased to hear
the on-off Broadway revival was back on as the
musical opened its doors. For those who missed out the previous December,
viewers of the Wayne Brady Show were treated to a repeat showing of Kermit’s
Christmas appearance. The word "Muppet" was chosen for inclusion
in the Oxford Dictionary of English.

SEPTEMBER

The
Muppets began the month with special appearances throughout the Jerry
Lewis Telethon. Bear from Bear in the Big Blue House appeared in the studio
while Johnny and Sal took part from Hollywood via a live video link. Miss
Piggy was listed as one of the best dressed celebrities in the "Best
and Worst Dressed" issue of People magazine. Clifford stole a kiss
from Paula Abdul in a clip from behind-the-scenes of Muppets Tonight,
shown as part of her E! True Hollywood Story. Sonia Monzano, otherwise
known as Maria from Sesame Street was honored at the Hispanic Heritage
Awards. Fans of vintage Henson material were in for a treat as Muppets
Magic from the Ed Sullivan Show was released on DVD. The MuppetVision
3D Theater in California was the location for a taping of the Wayne Brady
Show. Kermit The Frog guest hosted The Jimmy Kimmel Show for a week, Statler
and Waldorf were on hand to heckle his performance. Variety reported that
Martin Baker
and Angus Fletcher, two employee’s who had held senior positions
with Henson in the United Kingdom before the cutbacks had signed production
deals with the company. The dedication ceremony
to unveil Jim Henson’s statue at the University Of Maryland
took place on his birthday, September 24th. The Henson family attended
the event along with many other friends and employees. A weeklong series
of related activities were held at the University including a Muppet film
festival.

OCTOBER

During
the month exciting news came about the Muppets next big project, Ain't
It Cool News reported they would star in The Muppet Wizard Of Oz. It was
rumored this would be a TV movie for the ABC network and would shoot in
Vancouver, Canada. A fantastic tribute to Jim Henson was held at The Museum
of Television and Radio in New York. Muppet
Rarities: The Unseen Work of Jim Henson was a chance for fans to watch
early archive material and take part in a discussion panel with Craig
Shemin, Jane Henson and Jerry Nelson. Kermit the Frog encouraged passers
by to live
their dreams in a new billboard constructed in Times Square by the
Foundation for a Better Life. Sesame Street came under attack from the
Commercial Alert organization, they demanded PBS cease
airing McDonald’s corporate-sponsorship messages before and
after each program. Fun-4-All toys announced it would produce
action figures based on the Sesame Street characters with the first
wave released in March 2004. Jim Henson Pictures feature film Good Boy
was released to mixed reviews. They
also announced they were looking
for a deal to make Neverwhere, another Neil Gaiman fantasy film set
in the sewers and subway tunnels beneath London. Elmo, Miss Piggy and
Kermit all made appearances on The Wayne Brady Show. The makers of Muppet
Monopoly released their next product - a 550 piece collectors edition
Jigsaw puzzle which included obscure characters from The Muppet Show.
Fraggle Rock was featured during the 1983 edition of VH1's I Love The
80's Strikes Back. Bear from Bear in the Big Blue House appeared on Hollywood
Squares as part of their "Stars of Daytime TV" week. It's a
Very Merry Muppet Christmas was released on DVD - Pepe the Prawn interviewed
director Kirk Thatcher as part of the special features. A new Muppet Calendar
was published, unlike recent years the 2004 edition featured classic cast
pictures from The Muppet Show rather than film parodies.

NOVEMBER

Photo
by Daniel Dunnam

Muppet Central
forum members Jogchem Jalink and Thijs van Domburg appeared as Muppet
fan experts on TV when they took part in the Dutch version of BBC’s
I Love The Muppets documentary. Elsewhere in Europe, Muppet Family Christmas
and A Christmas Toy were released on DVD with The Very Best of the Muppet
Show Volume Three announced for release in January and rumors of a Fraggle
Rock disc coming in 2004. Kermit appeared on the Today Show in the USA
while Animal played the drums in a UK advert for Renault. A new balloon
based on Super Grover, Sesame Street’s very own furry super hero
appeared in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Steve Whitmire appeared
with Kermit The Frog at two Barnes & Noble stores in New York singing
songs and taking questions from the audience. They were there to launch
the stores endcap promotion of Muppet merchandise. A special limited
edition Dark Crystal DVD box set was released including various collectable
premium items and a forward written by Cheryl Henson. TDK Mediactive's
video games Muppets Party Cruise and Spy Muppets: License to Croak arrived
in stores. Sababa Toys began releasing Fraggle Rock merchandise at speciality
stores with Doozer PVC's and the first wave of character plushes. Kermit
and Miss Piggy appeared on Hollywood Squares as part of their "Dynamic
Duos" week. President and CEO of the Henson Company Charlie
Rivkin stepped down after 15 years service, he would continue to serve
on the Henson board. It was also announced that Henson was talking
to Disney and Viacom about possible partnership deals in TV production,
Home Video distribution and merchandising. There was a fantastic end to
the month as news broke that Farscape would be
returning as a 4-hour miniseries. Efforts by the Jim Henson Company
and a massive web based fan campaign had led to the cult sci-fi show being
revived, production would begin in December.

DECEMBER

There
was a solemn start to the month as fans and supporters of the Jim Henson
Company were dismayed to hear reports that the Townhouse, the New
York headquarters of the organization was to be put up for sale. The
staff who had remained at the offices after earlier cutbacks would be
relocated to the Chaplin Studios in LA, along with the mural and other
displays that had made the building home for the Muppets since 1977. On
a more positive note, Ain't It Cool News released further information
on the still unofficially announced Muppet Wizard Of Oz. They listed Natalie
Portman as a possible candidate to play the lead role of Dorothy. Michael
Horn, President of Palisades Toys appeared alongside Al Roker on the Today
Show. For every Holiday Rizzo figure bought they would be donating an
action figure to the show’s toy drive. Even more surprising than
one Camilla plush being released during the year a second came out, this
time as part of Sababa Toys Vet's Hospital themed set. Sideshow Toys released
the last two waves of their Muppet Bust series which had been in production
since Summer 2002 - although strangely the collection included every member
of the Electric Mayhem apart from Floyd. It was revealed Elmo
would duet with Martina McBride singing "Let's Pretend"
for a future episode of Sesame Street next season. The Count, Big Bird,
Super Grover and other characters from the show also joined him in a new
advert about their love for the NBA. The festive
season was topped off by Bear from Bear in the Big Blue House. He appeared
at the ABC/Disney Christmas Parade to sing Rockin' Around the Christmas
Tree.

While the
year had its less positive moments with the staffing cutbacks, building
closures and lack of any new Muppet productions, the high point was that
the Hensons were back in control of their father's company and it appeared
that the foundations were being laid for a more stable future.

The
previous twelve months had certainly seen a boom in Muppet merchandise
with the continued action figure releases from Palisades Toys leading
over sixty other licensees who had released or were planning to release
Henson related products. This looked set to continue with the addition
of vintage properties like Fraggle Rock and Muppet Babies being promoted
at retail. Things are starting to look good for 2004 with the reported
return of Farscape, a possible Muppet Wizard Of Oz movie and Sesame Street's
35th anniversary celebration.

Fan site Muppet Central created by Phillip Chapman. Updates by Muppet
Central Staff. All Muppets, Bear characters are copyright
of The Muppets Studio. Sesame Street characters are copyright of Sesame
Workshop.
Fraggle Rock, Creature Shop and similar likenesses are copyright
of The Jim Henson Company.
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